Awakening

"Genichi."

Not long after Shen Yuanyi had gone to sleep following a late-night gaming session, he received a call from Megumi Fushiguro. The voice over the phone was somewhat distorted, but what came next instantly woke Shen Yuanyi up.

"Sister suddenly passed out again. I've already called an ambulance. You—"

Shen Yuanyi barely heard the rest. He hurriedly got up and ran to the Fushiguro Household. Panic was already plainly visible on Megumi Fushiguro's face. Before the ambulance arrived, Shen Yuanyi tried using Reverse Cursed Technique to treat Tsumiki, but found that it had no effect.

Cursed Technique Reversal was barely any better. Even after Shen Yuanyi gave it everything he had, Tsumiki's eyelids merely trembled as though she were about to wake up, only for her to lapse back into unconsciousness moments later. The only good news was that her vital signs were stable, almost as though she were simply asleep.

After taking her to the hospital, a round of examinations and diagnoses still failed to find any cause. The only conclusion was that everything appeared normal, yet she remained unconscious and could not wake up, leaving the doctors at their wits' end.

But Shen Yuanyi quickly noticed something wrong. He could actually sense the presence of a curse on Tsumiki, and even after trying to remove it, nothing happened.

"Could her previous collapse have been caused by the same thing? This is troublesome."

Shen Yuanyi could only urgently ask Gojo Satoru for help. Not long afterward, Gojo Satoru appeared at the hospital. After examining Tsumiki's condition, his expression became somewhat grave as well.

"It's a curse, and an unknown one at that. A very troublesome curse. At the very least, I have no idea how to resolve it right now. We need to find the source of this curse. Has she been anywhere unfamiliar recently, or encountered any curses?"

Megumi Fushiguro sat in a chair in the hallway outside the ward, lowering his head to think for a while before saying, "No. Sister hasn't gone anywhere else recently. There are no traces of cursed spirits at school or near our home either."

The only silver lining was that Tsumiki was merely unconscious and not in immediate danger. Gojo Satoru then arranged for people to investigate the places Tsumiki had visited recently. With no way to break the curse for now, they could only place Tsumiki under care at a private hospital owned by the Gojo Family.

Seeing Megumi Fushiguro sitting there in silence, Gojo Satoru walked over and patted his shoulder. "Megumi."

Megumi Fushiguro, who had remained silent all this time, raised his head. "Gojo-sensei, if I go to Jujutsu High, can I become strong enough? Right now, I seem far too weak to protect the people I cherish."

Gojo Satoru looked at the determined boy before him, the inheritor of the Zenin Family's hereditary technique, then said, "You can. Megumi, you're talented too. Wanting to protect the people you cherish is a good conviction. Jujutsu Sorcerers draw power from negative emotions, but they also need convictions like that to support themselves."

After watching Tsumiki get taken away, Megumi Fushiguro went back to pack his things. Shen Yuanyi stood beside Gojo Satoru and broke the brief silence. "Sensei, isn't this more likely to be the work of a Curse User? If she had accidentally entered some place and encountered a curse, there wouldn't be no clues at all like this."

Gojo Satoru nodded. "This isn't an ordinary curse. If we rule out the possibility that an enemy deliberately cursed her, then it's more likely to be indiscriminate targeting."

"So the culprit might be difficult to find?" Shen Yuanyi said expressionlessly.

"A curse like this must have been cast for some purpose. As long as they keep acting, they'll inevitably leave traces behind."

Gojo Satoru turned and motioned for Shen Yuanyi to follow. "Let's go. By the way, Yuanyi, when are you planning to become a Special Grade?"

"Soon. Once I get used to maintaining Cursed Technique Reversal around the clock. Gojo-sensei, does anyone at Jujutsu High know New Shadow Style? Since I won't be learning Domain Expansion anytime soon, I want to start with Simple Domain."

"Yes. Your future second-year homeroom teacher, Atsuya Kusakabe, is especially skilled at it. He's a First Grade Sorcerer without a Cursed Technique, you know. After Kento and the others were suspended, he probably had nothing to do anyway. This is a good chance for you to learn from him."

Shen Yuanyi had also heard about the two second-year students being suspended. Apparently, they had clashed with the Conservatives during the previous Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident.

He did not know the exact details, nor did Shen Yuanyi ask Gojo Satoru. Those old bastards might not be good at much else, but they were quite skilled at setting traps and playing their so-called schemes.

Besides, how the matter began was no longer important. What mattered was that Kinji Hakari had failed to hold himself back and given them something to use against him. The suspension was probably the result of a compromise.

By the time they returned to Jujutsu High in Ijichi's car, the rising sun had already awakened from the embrace of the mountains. After settling Megumi Fushiguro into a dorm and taking care of the rest, he went to lie down for a while, having not rested all night.

Shen Yuanyi, meanwhile, remained full of energy. These days, he slept very little each day. In fact, if necessary, he no longer needed sleep at all.

Still, hiding beneath the blankets in winter was truly one of life's pleasures. Endless work was boring, and so was endless entertainment. That was why Shen Yuanyi still enjoyed the empty relaxation of sleep every day.

After returning, he greeted Panda, Maki, and the others, who had already risen early to train, then went to find Atsuya Kusakabe.

After Shen Yuanyi explained his purpose, the middle-aged man—with slightly messy hair, thick brows, large eyes, and a lollipop in his mouth—readily agreed.

"As long as you want to learn this style, Jujutsu High allows it if you have a certain amount of merit. You'll definitely qualify. Want to start now?"

Shen Yuanyi nodded. "Yes. I'm mainly interested in New Shadow Style's Simple Domain, though I'd also like to learn some of its other techniques."

Atsuya Kusakabe brought Shen Yuanyi to an empty room, picked up a training Wooden Sword, and began explaining the principles and basics of New Shadow Style.

Shen Yuanyi mastered the forms quickly. What he mainly wanted to learn was Simple Domain, as well as New Shadow Style's techniques for combining Cursed Energy with cursed tools.

"It's constructed with Cursed Energy through Barrier Technique, without involving a Jujutsu Sorcerer's Cursed Technique, so it's much easier. But accordingly, it doesn't have as many functions. No wonder some people call it the domain of the weak."

Shen Yuanyi maintained the posture of sheathing his sword. A rudimentary Simple Domain, spanning only several meters around him, had already taken shape.

This felt rather interesting. Shen Yuanyi could sense that if an attack entered his Simple Domain right now, the domain's movement would automatically trigger a counterattack. But what Shen Yuanyi valued more was its ability to neutralize the sure-hit effect within an enemy's domain.

Atsuya Kusakabe thrust his sword out like lightning. It was like a breeze rippling across water as Shen Yuanyi sensed an "intruder" entering the several-meter range around him.

Shen Yuanyi had not even activated his Cursed Technique, yet he did not notice when his Wooden Sword had left its sheath. The blade that moved after struck first, hitting the side of the Wooden Sword thrusting straight at him and easily deflecting the attack.

Atsuya Kusakabe sheathed his sword. "You've got talent. No wonder you're that guy's student. Just take the technical aspects as a reference. As for the rest, practice more."

He bit down on the candy in his mouth, though he looked more like he was holding a cigarette between his lips. He merely marveled at Shen Yuanyi's learning speed, without showing any other emotion.

There were always geniuses in this world, weren't there? Atsuya Kusakabe had understood that long ago, before he ever awakened a Cursed Technique. But he did not care about such things. All he wanted was to live his life safely and peacefully.

Besides, the tall ones were often the first to withstand the raging storm pouring down from the sky.

"I'm off. Time to eat."

After saying goodbye, Kusukabe waved at Shen Yuanyi, who was still practicing, then left first.

Shen Yuanyi stopped and checked the time, only to realize it was already noon. He returned to the dorm, took a quick shower, then called out to Megumi Fushiguro, who had already woken up, and headed to the cafeteria.

The food at Jujutsu High's cafeteria was ordinary. It was not bad, but it was only barely above passing. The daily menu was mostly fixed, with only a limited number of options.

There were not many people who ate here anyway. Some were always out carrying out missions. For example, Gojo Satoru was often nowhere to be seen, and Shen Yuanyi had basically never seen him in the cafeteria.

The moment he entered, he saw Panda and the others sitting together. Shen Yuanyi waved back at Panda, then took Megumi Fushiguro to order at the counter. He paid with his student ID, though cash was accepted too.

After ordering tonkotsu ramen and tempura, Shen Yuanyi carried his tray over and sat down. Panda immediately gave him a meaningful look. "Yuanyi, is that Megumi Fushiguro you told us about?"

Okkotsu Yuta and Inumaki Toge looked equally curious. Their previous new classmate had been studying under Nanami Kento, and before the second cohort could even enroll, an accident had happened and she had yet to wake up. Though her recovery was inevitable, they had never gotten close enough to her.

But this new junior, a boy who had grown up alongside Shen Yuanyi, naturally made them feel a certain closeness toward him.

Once Megumi Fushiguro came over carrying his tray, Shen Yuanyi motioned for him to sit down and said, "Megumi Fushiguro. I've mentioned him to you before. He'll be part of the next cohort. Gojo-sensei asked me to bring Megumi here early."

He then introduced the others to Megumi Fushiguro. "Panda is Panda. You already know that." Panda smiled and greeted him.

"Inumaki Toge is a Cursed Speech User. He's very strong, but he usually substitutes other words when he speaks, so you might not understand him. You can ask Panda to translate."

"Salmon." Inumaki Toge dipped his head slightly toward Megumi Fushiguro.

"Okkotsu Yuta was a Special Grade before, and I think Yuta will return to Special Grade soon enough. Too bad you came late and didn't get to meet Yuta's little girlfriend."

Okkotsu Yuta politely greeted Megumi Fushiguro, and then it was Maki's turn.

"Zenin Maki is very skilled with cursed tools. We'll have to rely on her to train you later. You two know each other too, right?"

Maki looked Megumi Fushiguro over, then nodded. "Barely. We met once when we were kids."

Seeing everyone else's curious looks, Shen Yuanyi remembered that he seemed not to have told them Megumi Fushiguro had originally been named Zenin. Well... it was not important.

Though Megumi Fushiguro was not particularly cheerful or outgoing either, after the brief introductions, the atmosphere became much more comfortable. They ate and chatted about recent events.

Nothing much had happened overall. The most noteworthy matter was probably Okkotsu Yuta saying that Gojo Satoru had assigned him a mission that required him to travel abroad.

"Yuta, don't forget to bring us souvenirs."

They had all seen Okkotsu's strength for themselves. Since he had already learned Reverse Cursed Technique, there was not much to worry about, so they smiled, offered their blessings, and teased him a little.

"No problem."